Lockheed Martin F22 Raptor

FastTrax

FastTrax

Well-known Member
 
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Been There said:
This is truly one badass airplane. I doubt if it will ever be sold to any other country because of the technology the plane has in it.
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I saw one of these at the Air Force Base in Goldsboro, NC. We were given about a 15 minute demonstration at low altitude. You could feel the power while sitting in the bleachers. Very impressive.
 
Born_To_Lose said:
Does the Air Force fly these? Are they on carriers?
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The plane is assigned to the Air Force, but I had heard a newer version was possibly going to be "drafted" for the Navy. I don't know if that ever came about or not. I never saw one on any of the Carriers I was on.
 
Been There said:
The plane is assigned to the Air Force, but I had heard a newer version was possibly going to be "drafted" for the Navy. I don't know if that ever came about or not. I never saw one on any of the Carriers I was on.
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The carrier I served on had mainly A4s and F8s (-8
Needless to say, nothing resembling that F22. Wow! Times have changed.
 
I had to check it out. That’s an old ship from WWII. I had to smile at the price tag of $70million, or in today’s money, it would cost $1.08 billion. It was decommissioned in 1976. Seems like a fairly large ship for it’s time.

I was too late for Vietnam, but not to worry. We had more wars or conflicts on the way.
 
Been There said:
I had to check it out. That’s an old ship from WWII. I had to smile at the price tag of $70million, or in today’s money, it would cost $1.08 billion. It was decommissioned in 1976. Seems like a fairly large ship for it’s time.

I was too late for Vietnam, but not to worry. We had more wars or conflicts on the way.
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That was an interesting three years. Never put into port in Vietnam and never actually saw it, well maybe once, or could have been a cloud on the horizon. The Hancock was stationed in Alameda, but on a Vietnam deployment, when not at sea it was most often Subic Bay in the Philippines - not my favorite place, but we also put into Hong Kong, Japan, and Hawaii on the way out and coming back in. When my 3 year commitment was up I was offered 2 years shore duty anywhere if I extended. Requested the Med and got Rota Spain. Did a lot of traveling. Morocco several times, Norway to Turkey and most points between. Join the Navy, see the world. Truer words were never spoken.
 
What was your impression of Hong Kong? Japan is overcrowded and Hawaii is beautiful and if I could have stayed there, I most definitely would have.

One thing about Japan. I met an older gentleman in Kyoto, Japan while staying at the Hyatt Regency. He happened to be living in Hiroshima during the dropping of the bomb. He told me he was in high school that day. They had just started school that morning when the alarm was sounded and they took cover. I thought to myself, “Oh boy, here we go. He’s going to really give it to me.”

That wasn’t the case at all. He held my attention for over an hour. I got a real live history lesson that day. He showed very little emotion. It was a very interesting conversation and I could have stayed longer.
 
Been There said:
What was your impression of Hong Kong? Japan is overcrowded and Hawaii is beautiful and if I could have stayed there, I most definitely would have.
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Japan was a sightseeing opportunity, and a chance to do a little traveling. Beautiful place. Hong Kong on the other hand was a shopping expedition. Fake Rolexes were everywhere, and I still have one. The most popular item was a custom tailored Hong Kong suit. Problem was the notoriously lousy thread quality. One stop there my roommate had a suit made which he wore into town. We were anchored out and due to a storm had to get underway unexpectedly. An attempt was made to round up crew members in town, but they missed him. Next day the stragglers were flown back to the Philippines where he had to wait for us for at least a week. He had no clothes or uniform other than the Hong Kong suit which because of the thread problem had disintegrated. When he got back to the ship he was wearing nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. (-8
 
ElCastor said:
Japan was a sightseeing opportunity, and a chance to do a little traveling. Beautiful place. Hong Kong on the other hand was a shopping expedition. Fake Rolexes were everywhere, and I still have one. The most popular item was a custom tailored Hong Kong suit. Problem was the notoriously lousy thread quality. One stop there my roommate had a suit made which he wore into town. We were anchored out and due to a storm had to get underway unexpectedly. An attempt was made to round up crew members in town, but they missed him. Next day the stragglers were flown back to the Philippines where he had to wait for us for at least a week. He had no clothes or uniform other than the Hong Kong suit which because of the thread problem had disintegrated. When he got back to the ship he was wearing nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. (-8
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That's funny. I was going to say the same thing about the shopping in HK. I think the going rate was around $7.50HK to $1 U.S. We shopped on a place called Orchard Road. I couldn't believe how far my money went. Fake Rolex and Gucci watches were all over the place at about $7 U.S.

When we were in Taipei every tailor on every corner wanted to sell us a suit. "I make suit for you in one day." Then take a walk down Snake Alley where you can buy blood from all types of snakes. They drink their blood. Why? I never figured that part out.
Snake Alley
 
Been There said:
That's funny. I was going to say the same thing about the shopping in HK. I think the going rate was around $7.50HK to $1 U.S. We shopped on a place called Orchard Road. I couldn't believe how far my money went. Fake Rolex and Gucci watches were all over the place at about $7 U.S.
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The stuff bought over there was endless. Japanese ceramic barbecues were a popular item. I heard about a destroyer that was so top heavy with loot that it was downright unstable. Anyhow, when we returned to Alameda, Customs agents were waiting on the pier, day one. Rumor has it about day two. (-8
 
We flew home and gad to list our purchases on a customs form. At that time, we had to claim any purchases over $400 and no fake or counterfeit watches, jewel, etc.
 
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